Hunger
by Jinxgirl
Summary: The Hamiltons fic- 50 sentence prompt. Five siblings who are in need of blood for survival struggle along together, trying to get by in the world and figure out life.


Author notes: This is based on a fifty sentence prompt I've seen other writers use before, and it's about the characters from the After Dark festival film, The Hamiltons.

1: Comfort As David awkwardly slid an arm around his weeping brother's shoulders, staring at the blood streaked body at their feet so he would not have to look into Francis's anguished eyes he felt Francis slowly lean into him, soaking up the uncertain comfort that David felt ill prepared to provide.

2. Kiss Sometimes Francis looked at Samantha and felt a strong urge to cup her face in his hands and kiss her until the suffering in her eyes was replaced with pleasure…but no matter how many ways he pictured it in his head, it always ended with him biting down, unable to resist the intoxicating scent of her blood.

3. Soft Lenny's cheeks were still baby-soft and smooth, rounded in a manner that made strangers smile, charmed by the solemn little boy who offered them his hand; if they ever saw those cheeks spattered with blood as he eagerly gulped from his Toy Story mug, they would shudder.

4. Pain It used to trouble David, to hear his victim's screams, to see them writhe in anguish, sobbing and pleading for mercy; he resents it now, for their pain will eventually end, as his cannot, and while they freely express it, he could never do so and still be able to delude himself into believing later he carried any degree of authority.

5. Potatoes Francis took a bite out of a potato once, reasoning that it was the source of French fries, and his peers liked those very much; it tasted like dirt, caused him to vomit copiously, and he came to the conclusion that so-called normal people were simply insane.

6. Rain The first time Lenny saw rain, he stood frozen at the window, speechless in his belief that the entire world was melting; it was Darlene who took him, laughing, by the hand and lead him outside, standing with him clasping hands in the downpour with her head tilted back and a radiant smile crossing her face, dark makeup smearing.

7. Chocolate Although of course they cannot eat chocolate, all of the Hamiltons love its scent, and sometimes Francis carefully weighs the pros and cons of taking just one bite, just one time.

8. Happiness At one point, Francis had looked at happiness as a status far beyond his reach, a state of being that would never be obtainable for any like himself; he now knows that in finding self-acceptance, happiness soon follows.

9. Telephone Their telephone rarely rang; there were few they grew close enough to with each move to wish to say anything to that could not be said in the brief surface discussions occurring face to face.

10. Wendell's ears are one of the most sensitive areas of his body, and as Darlene lightly flicked her tongue across their lobes, he growled deep in his throat, fingers digging deeply into her back.

11. Name David was named for his father, and this fact only heightened the pressure he felt to stand worthy of it in his father's death.

12. Sensual Sometimes when David listens to Darlene speak in a voice that's more of a purr, or feels her touch him briefly with a knowing glint in her eyes, a muscle twitches in his cheek, for she knows exactly how to play him.

13. Death It seems ironic to Francis that while the death of his parents holds enormous meaning to his siblings, the deaths of their victims means nothing more than another day's meal.

14. Sex Sometimes Francis lies awake at night, hearing the loud cries coming for Wendell and Darlene's room across from his and the stifled gasps and grunts from David's beside his, and he digs his nails into his hands until his palms bleed.

15. Touch Francis remembers how his mother would brush his hair from his face with the most tender smile, how his father would clap a hand on his shoulder as he asked about his day, and it makes him realize with a sudden sharp pain that he cannot remember the last time he was touched with genuine warmth.

16. Weakness David knows he must never break, must never show any emotion less than amiable, for what would happen to his family if they ever know how he really felt inside?

17. Tears The twins did not cry when their parents died; they stood wrapped in each others' arms, their faces pale, blank, and stunned, but they did not cry, and Francis felt a flash of fury that even then, they could not seem to be human, to be NORMAL enough to openly grieve two of the few people on this earth they had loved.

18. Speed Kitty tried to run, tried to outpace the lurking twins in her panic, but with a speed so inhumanly fast it seemed impossible, they overtook her, blocking any possible escape with curving lips.

19. Wind In an exercise on metaphors in school, Francis described his family as five tumbleweeds blowing in the wind, yet still managing to cling together with every fresh gust.

20. Freedom What would it mean, Francis wondered, to be free of this disease, free of the curse of his blood…what would it mean to be normal?

21. Life Life…it could be taken in an instant, and yet took so long to develop and come forth with its first breaths…and if this had meaning, as Darlene insisted it did, Francis was not sure he wished to be aware of it.

22. Jealousy Sometimes when Francis watches the twins making out with frantic intensity, sprawled comfortably across each other on the couch as Wendell absently strokes his fingers through Darlene's hair, or even walking together hand in hand, he feels bitter envy cramp his insides to the point he has to look away, for he knows he will never have with anyone what they so carelessly take for granted.

23. Hands Lenny's hands are already almost as big as Darlene's, and his siblings knew even at his early age he will surpass her in brutality.

24. Taste They could use many adjectives; dark, rich, refreshing, sweet, smooth- but no word could really describe the sensation of human blood on one's tongue, slipping down one's throat.

25. Devotion Whatever they say, whatever they do, no matter how frustrated they get or how angry or disgusted, Francis knows his siblings will never leave him or Lenny, and that, he supposes, is how he knows they love him- even the twins.

26. Forever They are not immortal, nor ageless, and for that Francis is grateful; he could not imagine this life continuing for all eternity.

27. Blood Francis finds it odd how the very blood that is so necessary to preserve their health, if lost in even small quantities, can end the health and life of others.

28. Sickness When he was young, his mother told him that they were sick and needed the blood to be well; Francis had scoffed at this euphemism as he grew older, but now that Darlene tells Lenny the same thing, it seems more truthful than he originally thought.

29. Melody As Darlene sings Lenny to sleep each night as she tucks him in, she smiles a little sadly, remembering that it had once been their mother who sang her and Wendell into dreams.

30. Star Francis doesn't' believe in God, but sometimes when he looks up at the night sky, and the scattering of stars overhead, he wonders how there is still some beauty in the world.

31. Home Their mother used to tell them that home was not a place at all, but rather the people that dwelt in your heart; though it sounded corny, the older he gets, the more Francis wonders if she was right.

32. Confusion The first time Lenny stepped into the sunlight, he blinked, his mouth open, then, turning to Darlene, asked her where was the lamp that shone so brightly.

33. Fear If he were to be asked, Wendell would declare himself to be without fear, but Darlene has been present when he awakens from nightmares gasping her name, eyes darting anxiously as he makes sure she is still alive and well beside him.

34. Lightning Sometimes when it is raining heavily, the lightning flashing across the darkened sky, David drives for hours, hoping to find a drifter anxious enough for shelter to come inside his truck.

35. Bonds Family is the bonds that tie, their mother had often said, but sometimes to David, it felt more like the bonds that strangled.

36. Market David used to go to the supermarkets each Friday, buying popular food items to keep up the pretense of their normality, but when Wendell threatened to bring it all back, each and every time, David was forced to admit that Wendell's action would draw more attention than not buying food at all.

37. Technology Lately David has been meeting his victims online, in gay chat rooms; it makes it that much faster to narrow down the possibilities.

38. Gift For the first two years after their parents died, David tried to throw birthday parties the same as usual, but when the twins refused to attend even their own, he too had to admit he couldn't pretend it was the same.

39. Smile Sometimes when David gives Francis his new plastic smile, he wants to punch him; sometimes it hurts so much to remember his old smile, to compare it to his new one, that Francis can't look at David at all.

40. Innocence Francis supposes Lenny is innocent mentally, if not by deed, but this is difficult to remember when he sees the glare in his eyes coupled with the blood streaked over his chin.

41. Completion Their mother said Lenny was just what they needed to make their family complete; sometimes Francis felt though that he helped to keep them broken.

42. Clouds Their father used to say that Francis had his head in the clouds; it seemed to him that the rest of his family got savage delight from yanking him back to earth with as much force as possible.

43. Sky The sky's the limit, people always said, but all the Hamiltons knew that their disease was their limit, a barrier that always sent them bouncing back every time they stretched forth.

44. Heaven Darlene used to teach Francis about Heaven and Hell when they were little, telling him he was sure to burn forever; his mother would take him in her arms and tell him that Heaven was what you made of it, and hers was right here on earth with her family, but all the same, he hopes she likes her afterlife too.

45. Hell If there was a hell, the twins declared, they would rule it within thirty seconds of their arrival, and Francis did not doubt they would try.

47. Sun They do not burn in sunlight, as is the popular myth; still, Darlene never ventures outside in the day, and Francis sometimes wonders if she is secretly superstitious.

48. Waves Hunched over Samantha's bloodied form, Francis's sobs shuddered through him, tears blinding his vision as strong emotions ripped through him in waves- fear, regret, grief, pain- but what upset him most was that one of those emotions was relief.

49. Hair Lying back against Wendell's chest, Darlene arched her neck like a preening cat, closing her eyes in enjoyment as Wendell gently combed his fingers through her hair.

50. Hunger In the end, no matter what their intentions, their hunger rules out, and it will ensure their survival at all costs, no matter which others lose out as a result.

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End file.
